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Thousand new jobs open in California’s forest products sector
The state’s forestry association announced the launch of the forestry sector jobs initiative to recruit a thousand workers from underserved and underrepresented communities.
Representative Image. / Pexels
The forest products sector in California is facing a workforce shortage. The California Forestry Sector Jobs Initiative is offering jobs, training, and help in establishing and educating individuals in career pathways. The initiative is focused on promoting a skilled workforce and fostering community resilience, and environmental stewardship across California.
The state’s forestry association announced the launch of the forestry sector jobs initiative to recruit a thousand workers from underserved and underrepresented communities in an attempt to expand the forest products workforce. At the Ethnic Media Services briefing, officials said that the initiative would build a workforce that reflects the state’s diversity. Climate change necessitates a significant expansion and job opportunities that were traditionally filled within the community.
“Historically, this forest sector has done a very good job of feeding workforce needs from within Northern California communities,” said Matt Dias, President and CEO, California Forestry Association (Calforests). “The workforce needs have gone well beyond. Recognizing this challenge the forest department is reaching out across state lines.”
California state officials are hiring full-time employees to fill positions from health care to transportation. Although some positions require employees to work in the office, others offer remote work and hybrid schedules. State jobs are known for offering competitive benefits and enrollment in the nation’s largest state public pension plan.
The initiative is made possible through a grant from the State Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Cal forests has been awarded a workforce development grant under the Forest health program climate and energy program.
Calforests represents the forest products sector in California so that comes with about four million acres of well-managed forest land in the state as well as all the primary manufacturing facilities for product facilities in California like lumber producers, bio energy and some cases veneer. They also represent the private sector in California.
We are not hiring firefighters, says President and CEO, California Forestry Association (Calforests).
California Forestry Association (Calforests) is looking to fill approximately thousand positions across the entire integrated sector. “It’s an integrated industry, there are jobs in manufacturing, forestry, natural resources, distribution etc. There is a whole vertically integrated stream,” said Dias.
The jobs could be vocational like timber harvest crew, truck drivers, or in administration for instance facilities management.
“There’s a whole slew of different job opportunities in the forestry sector,” said Chief Matthew Reischman, Deputy Director of Resource Management, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE). “Some of it is boots on the ground operational jobs working with equipment, running chainsaw to more technical work as a licensed or registered professional forester. A lot of those jobs have been handed down from mothers and fathers to daughters and sons. Even the equipment would be passed down and so we haven’t had a huge amount of diversity and opportunity to have more folks that come in.”
One of the job opportunities he shared was of the forest technician. “That is our entry-level permanent position with the department. We use those forestry technicians on our fuels reduction crews, which we had 10 across the state. That’s focusing largely on fuel reduction, vegetation management and prescribed fire,”
Brita Goldstein shared her experience of working in this sector.
Community Affairs and Communications Representative Green Diamond Resource Company, Brita Goldstein spoke to the lack of awareness about work opportunities in this sector.
“I did not know what forestry was until I got to college. I became fascinated by forestry when I learned about its versatility. I was working with mostly small family forest landowners to manage their lands for a variety of objectives. I eventually earned my RPS license in 2018,” said Goldstein.
She now works on the industrial side of the forest product sector as a liaison between a private company, Green Diamond and the public. Green Diamond Resource Company based on the north coast of California is a private industrial timber company. It owns and manages about 400,000 acres of forests and employs about 170 resource professionals like foresters, biologists, loggers.
“Since graduating in 2014 I have witnessed the increase in demand for resource management jobs in the face of climate change and increased wildfire risk.”
“There were not quite as many jobs when I was graduating then as there are now, and I would encourage everyone and anyone to consider a career in this field.”
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